Guide vane for hydraulic turbines



Dec. 18 ,1923. 1,47%;054

J. OVERN, JR

GUIDE VANE FOR HYDRAULIC TURBINES Original Filed May 22 1919 2Sheets-Sheet 1 25 v 22 W I i h i i l5 52 ,6 r /f 55 2! I 26 w 904W tozDec. 18, 1923. 1,47%54 J. OVERN, JR

GUIDE VANE FOR HYDRAULIC TURBINES Original Filed May 22 1919 2Sheets$heet 2 I Jig 4, 2% mm i i x l6 9 Patented Dec. 18, i223.

JOHN OVEBN, 33., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB 'IO WILLIAMCRAMP & SONS SHIP AND ENGINE BUILDING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OFPENNSYLVANIA.

GUIDE VANE FOR HYDRAULIC TURBINES.

Original application filed. May 22, 1919, Serial No. 298,982. Dividedand this application filed November To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Joint OvnRN, Jr., a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in GuideVanes for Hydraulic Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a new and improvedaxially mounted gate or guide vane for a hydraulic turbine. Anotherobject of my invention is to provide such a gate with means to reducethe leakage past its ends to a minimum when the gate is partially orentirely closed. Still another object of my invention relates toestablishing a strong mechanical connect-ion between the gate and theshaft on which it is mounted. Another object of my invention is toenable a gate to be used having an improved shape to suit the flow ofthe water and one which will leave a clear passage for the water at allpoints of the gate surface. Another object of my invention is to enablethe gates to be mounted in the most desirable position with respect tothe axis of motion of the gate without the necessity of having the axispass through the body of the gate. Still another object of my inventionis to provide a convenient method of removing or replacing a gatewithout disturbing the gate shaft or other parts of the turbine. Allthese and other objects of my invention will be appreciated uponconsideration of the disclosure of the specific em bodiment as set forthin the following specification and claims and the accompanying drawings.It will be understood that modifications may be made within the scope ofthe invention. 1' will now proceed specifically to describe theembodiment shown in the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a hydraulic turbine equipped withmy inc proved gates.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a gate and its shaft and a fragment ofone of the distributor plates with which the gate cooperates. I

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a gate involving a modified construction.

Fig. at is an elevation of the same and Figs. 5 and 6 are sections onthe lines 5-5 and 66 ofFig. 3.

Serial No. 600,626.

Referring to the em'bodimentof my invention shown in the drawings asapplied to a vertical shaft unit, the runner vanes 12 are adapted to beactuated by radial inflow of water from the turbine casing 14. The waterpassing from the spiral casing it goes between the tired vanes 15 andthen between the adjustable wicket gates or vanes 16. The gates 16 standin a circular row, below them being the distributor plate or wearingring 17 and above the distributor plate or wearing ring 21. Thedistributor plate 17 has suitable holes to receive the pintles 18 on therespective gates, and is also counterbored to form shallow cylindricalrecesses 28 to receive the corresponding enlarged disks 26 integrallyconnected with the pintles 18 and rigidly fastened to the gates 16.Similarly above the gates 16 the distributor plate 21 is counterbored toform shallow cylindrical recesses 29 that receive the collars 27 integral with the operating shafts or stems 19 and rigidly fastened to theupper portion of the gates 16. The recesses in the distributor plates 21and 1'? such for example as the recesses 28 in the plate 17 are cut asclose together as may be and still leave enough metal between to guardagainst any breaking of the division wall thereof. The faces of thedisks 26 and 27 on the sides toward the vane are made fair and flushwith the surfaces of the distributor plates. By referring to Fig. 2 itwill be seen that in the embodiment of the invention shown, each shaft19 is rigidly connected. to its vane 16 which in turn is rigidlyconnected to the lower pintle 18 and collar 26.

hen the turbine is operating at normal load or nearly normal load thewater will flow freely between the vanes to act on the runner vanes 12and cause rotation of the runner. To shut the turbine down the operatingring 22 of the turbine will be rotated and through the links 24 andcranks 25 the shafts 19 will also be rotated to bring the at least aslight clearance between the upper and lower ends of'the gates 16 andthe wearing rings 21 and 17 in order to insure free motion. These narrowclearance spaces would permit thin sheets of water to leak past thegates above and below. lit has been the common practice heretofore toconstructgates without the collars such as 27 and 26 and when the gateswere closed rings above and below where the vaneshave been-cut into bythese thin leakage streams. This notching tends to start activecorrosion during normal operation. The wide collars 27, 26 of myinvention almost com- ,pletely block off these leaks.

Anotheradvantage ofmy invention is realized when as is commonly the casethe thickness of the vanes 16 is less than the diameter of the-shaft 19.In such a case int-he absence of the collars 26 and 27 it has beennecessary, particularly at the point where collar 27 isnow introduced,either to change abruptly from the circular section of the shaft to thevane shaped section of the gate, or to extend'the shaft down on the faceof the vane in the form of a local swelling or lug in order to increasethe cross-section of the metal at this point, and to increase thestrength. If the shaft is not extended in this manner the point oftransition from the circular shaft to the vane shaped portion of thegate represents a section of greatly reduced strength, but on the otherhand if the circular section is extended, the swelling or lug thusformed on the vane surface interferes with the proper flow of wateralong the vane, and even at best this form of gate does not have all thestrength that is desirable'at the junction point between .the shaft andvane. It will be seen that in my improvement as exemplified in Fig. 2,there 'is no reduction of torsional strength for cross sections at anyheight. Where the shaft 19 oins the collar 27, there lis'the same crosssection as anywhere along the shaft, and wherethe collar 27 is fastenedto itheva'ne 16 the cross-section is'enough to give the same or greatertorsional-strength as across shaft 19. Farther down,the crosssection andtorsional strength of thevane will ordinarily be greater than of theshaft 19.

The need for torsional strength in the assembled shaft and vane becomesapparent "when it'is considered that sometimes stones er other hard @obje'cts "inay get into thewa'ter hydraulic thrust tending to force thegates in an axial direction. Attention is called to the relief holes30connecting the space below the lower pintle with the draft tube.

It is frequently possible to improv the design of the guidevanes byshifting them laterally away from their center of rotation. @ne reasonfor doing this'is to place themne'arer to the turbine runner'a'nd thusto reduce the width of clear space between the guide vanes and runner,while "at the same time permitting-the shaft tobe'located a sufficientdistance away from the runner toprovid'e thenecessary space for thebearings whichsupport it. Another consideration which makes itdesirable'to be able to shift the vane with respect to its center ofrotation is "the reduction which can be secured in this way in "thehydraulic load which the governor must overcome in movingthe vane.

In the specific embodiment of the invention shown in the'drawings thegates 16 are made detachable from the shaft 19 and the design is suchthat the gate can be removed without removing the shaft above or thepintlebelow. Theshaft 19 carries the disk 27 and a diametral riborfeather 32 projecting across the face of the disk 2?. The gate 16 has acorresponding slot 31 filled by the feather 32. A transverse pin 83through the gate 16 and the feather 32 keeps the parts in assembledrelation. The joint between the gate and'the pintle on the lower side isof exactly the same character. Heretofor it was common when it wasdesired to remove a single gate, to remove the 'turbine head coverbecause the removal of the gate required the removal 'of'the shaft onwhich it was mounted. By the present invention. if a particular gate isto be removed the pins 33 will be driven out and then the gate can bedisplaced horizontally in the direction of the slot 31 and key 32 and atany time it. or'a substitute gate, can readily be replaced. At allpoints the cross sections may b made sufficient to give "the samestrength as that of the cross section of the shaft 19. In this case thecollar 27 not 'onlyaffords a check against leakage but gives a base forthe "rib 32 with-adequate cross section for torsional strength.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial Number298,982, filed May 22, 1919.

I claim:

1. In a hydraulic turbine, an annular plate at the water inlet to therunner, a series of wicket gates at said inlet, rotatable shafts eachcarrying a respective collar, and a detachable connection between eachcolar and a respective gate, said annular plate having recesses toreceive the respective collars.

2. In a hydraulic turbine, an annular plate at the water inlet to therunner, a series of wicket gates at said inlet, rotatable shafts for therespective gates each shaft being detachably connected with its gate ata point adjacent to said plate.

3. In a hydraulic turbine, an annular plate at the water inlet to therunner, a series of wicket gates at said inlet, rotatable shafts for therespective gates each shaft being detachably connected with its gate ata point adjacent to said plate and means associated with each gate toprevent leakage past its ends.

4. In a hydraulic turbine, a wicket gate, a shaft therefore, adistributor plate with a hole through Which the shaft passes, said platehaving a recess around said shaft adjacent to said gate, a collar on theshaft in said recess, and means detachably connecting said collar andgate.

5. In a hydraulic turbine, a wicket gate, a shaft therefor, adistributor plate with a hole through which the shaft passes, said platehaving a recess around said shaft adjacent to said gate, a collar on theshaft in said recess, and a feather and slot connection between saidcollar and gate.

6. In a hydraulic turbine, a wicket gate, a shaft therefor, adistributor plate with a hole through which the shaft passes, said platehaving a recess around said shaft adjacent to said gate, a collar on theshaft in said recess, and a detachable connection between said collarand gate adapted for lateral removal of the gate without removal of theshaft.

7. A. turbine having a guide vane supported between walls of a waterpassage, and a shaft which passes through one of said walls and servesas a pivot for said guide vane, said guide vane having provisions torender the same detachable without disturbing said shaft.

8. A turbine having an adjustable throttle guide vane supported betweenwalls of a water passage, adjusting means for said vane extendingthrough one of said walls, said guide vane having provisions forrendering the same detachable without disturbing said means.

9. A hydraulic turbine having controlling means comprising a partsubject to the action of water flowing through said turbine and movableto variably guide the flow, and operating means for said part comprisingconnecting means between the part and its operating means permittingremoval and replacement of said part without removal of said operatingmeans.

10. A turbine having a water passage formed of opposite walls and awicket gate supported between said walls and extending from one wall tothe other, said gate having the same sectional outline everywherebetween said walls, adjusting means for said gate extending through oneof said walls and said gate having provisions for rendering the sameremovable from said turbine and replaceable therein without disturbingsaid means and walls.

JOHN OVERN, JR.

